Network testing and monitoring systems

• US 20070254644A1
• Filed: 07/03/2007
• Published: 11/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Actix Limited (Amdocs Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Actix Limited (Amdocs Ltd.)
• Inventors: Dobson, Robert, Ko, Yiu
• Granted Patent: US 7,634,267 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/423
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/142 using statistical or mathematical methods
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/344 Out-of-band transfers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5022 by giving priorities, e.g. assigning classes of service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5087 wherein the managed service relates to voice services management of VoIP services H04M7/0081
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/509 wherein the managed service relates to media content delivery, e.g. audio, video or TV
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/02 Capturing of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0852 Delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/50 Testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/55 Testing of service level quality, e.g. simulating service usage
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/20 Manipulation of established connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/04 Large scale networks; Deep hierarchical networks

Abstract

A method of testing a digital mobile phone network such as a GPRS or 3G network comprises either using real traffic or creating test traffic using test mobile phone coupled to a computer, and using the computer to measure a parameter associated with the network'"'"'s response to the traffic. The measurements made by the computer are themselves sent as traffic to create one or more data streams within the mobile phone network comprising the traffic, measurements relating to the traffic, and signalling relating to the traffic, whereby this data stream or these streams can be captured at interface points within the network and analysed to investigate the functioning of the network dynamically as the network is exercised with the traffic. Software and test equipment for performing the method are also described.

Claims

1. A method of providing performance information for a digital mobile phone network, the method comprising:

using a digital mobile phone of a subscriber of said network to perform measurements of quality of service (QoS) for real subscriber traffic for a service provided to said subscriber by an operator of said network, said real subscriber traffic not being test traffic;

generating QoS data from said quality of service (QoS) measurements; and

sending said QoS data into said digital mobile phone network to provide said performance information; and

wherein said digital mobile phone includes a processor and memory coupled to said processor, said memory storing program code including code for providing said service to said subscriber and monitoring agent code, and wherein the method further comprises;

using said monitoring agent code in said digital mobile phone to monitor said real subscriber traffic for said service to perform said QoS measurements and to generate said QoS data for sending into said digital mobile phone network.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising computing, in said digital mobile phone, statistics relating to said real subscriber traffic, and sending said statistics into said digital mobile phone network, and wherein said QoS data comprises said statistics.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2 further comprising aggregating said statistics, and sending said aggregated statistics into said digital mobile phone network, and wherein said QoS data comprises said aggregated statistics.

4. A method as claimed in claim 2 wherein said statistics are able to be aggregated and separated out by one or more variables including a service type variable defining a type of said service provided to said subscriber.

5. A method as claimed in claim 2 wherein said service provided to said user comprises one or more of an email service, a web browsing service and a video streaming service, and wherein said QoS data comprises one or both of throughput measurement data and latency measurement data.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said using further comprises using said digital mobile phone to perform said measurements of quality of service (QoS) using raw data extracted at a low level in said digital mobile phone.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6 wherein said raw data extracted at a low level comprises network layer data.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said sending of said QoS data comprises sending said QoS data to a remote destination in a second stream of traffic in addition to said real subscriber traffic.

9. A method as claimed in claim 2 further comprising using said monitoring agent code to retrieve data relating to said real subscriber traffic from other software elements within said digital mobile phone and to compute said statistics relating to said real subscriber traffic using said data retrieved from said other software elements.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein said data retrieved from said other software elements comprises network layer data.

11. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein said data retrieved from said other software elements comprises application layer data.

12. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein said data retrieved from said other software elements comprises raw data carried on said network.

13. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said QoS data comprises data derived from a count of a number of protocol errors associated with said real subscriber traffic of said digital mobile phone.

14. A method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising decoding a protocol stack of said traffic to read signalling data associated with said traffic and using said signalling data to analyze said QoS data.

16. A method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising using said digital mobile phone to receive commands over said network for said providing of said performance information.

17. A method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising capturing GPS position information for said digital mobile phone and sending said GPS position information into said digital mobile phone network to provide performance information comprising said QoS data together with said GPS position information.

18. A method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising using said monitoring agent code to collect performance information from a plurality of sources accessible using said digital mobile phone, said performance information including said QoS data;

forming said performance information from said plurality of sources into a combined stream; and

sending said combined stream into said digital mobile phone network to provide said performance information.

15. A method as claimed in 14 further comprising determining radio resources allocated to said real subscriber traffic and displaying said radio resources in association with said QoS data, displaying both as a function of time to enable an engineer to link a variation in a said QoS measurement of said real subscriber traffic at a time with a variation in said radio resources allocated to said traffic at substantially the same said time.

19. A method of obtaining drive test data for a digital mobile phone network without performing drive testing, said drive test data comprising traffic to or from a digital mobile phone across an air interface to an infrastructure of said network and associated air interface messaging for said traffic, the method comprising:

providing a said digital mobile phone including a processor and memory coupled to said processor, said memory storing program code including code for providing a service to a subscriber of said digital mobile phone network and monitoring agent code;

allowing a said subscriber to use said digital mobile phone to access said service and generate real subscriber traffic for said service;

monitoring a quality of said service using said monitoring agent code in said digital mobile phone; and

sending a result of said quality of service monitoring from said digital mobile phone to a remote destination to provide said drive test data without performing drive testing.

20. A digital mobile phone configured for obtaining drive test data for a digital mobile phone network without performing drive testing, said drive test data comprising traffic to or from a digital mobile phone across an air interface to an infrastructure of said network and associated air interface messaging for said traffic, said digital mobile phone including a processor and memory coupled to said processor, said memory storing program code including code to:

provide a service to a subscriber of said digital mobile phone network using said phone;

allow a said subscriber to use said digital mobile phone to access said service and generate real subscriber traffic for said service;

monitor a quality of service using said phone; and

send a result of said quality of service monitoring from said digital mobile phone to a remote destination to provide said drive test data without performing drive testing.